mikechille

Q: How can i erase a partition on a Mac Mini (Late 2012)

Hello,

 

I would like to know how i could erase a partition that i have made by mistake. My Mac is very low in Memory and of course i as soon as i open a few applications the Mac starts to bug.. I have just did a fresh instal and it still going slow..


When i try to do it with Disk Utility it is impossible. I will had a screenshot so that you could understand more my problem..

screenshot disk utility.png

OS X is installed on Macintosh HD, that's the principle one.

 

I'm using a Mac Mini Server (Late 2012) - Processor: 2.3 GHz Intel Core i7 - Memory 4Go with OS X El Capitan

 

In advance, Thank's a lot

 

MIKE

Mac mini, OS X El Capitan (10.11.3), Mac Mini Server (Late 2012)

Posted on Mar 12, 2016 9:47 AM

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Q: How can i erase a partition on a Mac Mini (Late 2012)

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  • Helpful answers

  • by lllaass,

    lllaass lllaass Mar 12, 2016 10:15 AM in response to mikechille
    Level 10 (187,981 points)
    Desktops
    Mar 12, 2016 10:15 AM in response to mikechille

    How did yo boot to access Disk Utility?

    you can't erase/format the partition you booted from.

    I can't tell if you are trying to do that.

    Try booting to Recovery

     

  • by mikechille,Solvedanswer

    mikechille mikechille Mar 12, 2016 11:17 AM in response to lllaass
    Level 1 (9 points)
    Mac OS X
    Mar 12, 2016 11:17 AM in response to lllaass

    I booted doing CTRL + R to go directly to the Disk Utility then i format both partition thinking that i could do it but without success..

    1 Partition name "Macintosh HD" has 1T and the 2nd name "Macintosh HD2 has 999.35Go. I would like to have only 1 partition so that my Mac could run much better than now.

  • by K Shaffer,

    K Shaffer K Shaffer Mar 12, 2016 7:43 PM in response to mikechille
    Level 6 (14,274 points)
    Desktops
    Mar 12, 2016 7:43 PM in response to mikechille

    The model of computer you state that you own appears to have two separate 1- TB hard disk drives.

    These are separate physical volumes and cannot be combined in their capacities to make one larger.

     

    Your computer model can use more memory RAM capacity; the two - 2GB chips can be replaced

    with larger capacity memory RAM chips, up to 2- 8GB for a total of 16GB. This is not HDD storage.

    With more RAM memory installed, the applications and OS X can work a bit faster and reliably if you

    get and install quality replacement upgrade RAM chips.

     

    example of memory RAM upgrade:

    http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/memory/Apple/Mac_mini/DDR3_1600

     

    example of 1 - TB SSD Solid State Drive upgrade: (fits Mini 2012 server)

    http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/SSD7E6G960/

     

    {Sources of reputable memory (RAM) upgrade include Crucial.com and macsales.com; to get the

    correct parts for upgrade, the correct identification of your computer is required. And proper parts

    for the one you have, obtained. Guaranteed tested and with a warranty. See OWC macsales for

    drive upgrades, they have SSD or solid-state drives; also some rotational drives.}

     

    The slow rotational speeds of the dual 1-TB hard disk drives can be a bottle-neck in performance;

    since the drives are used to store temporary system swap files in addition to those kept in RAM.

    The rotational patters in the hard disk drives run at 5400-RPM, so you could optionally have faster

    spin-rate rotational hard drives (7200-RPM) or solid-state hard drives, with much faster data speed.

     

    However at present, the drive images you posted appear to look OK, and each 1 TB drive in that Server

    model may take some time before you'd fill them. The computer could use more memory in chip RAM.

     

    I have the same computer build, a Late 2012 Mac Mini i7 2.3GHz 4-core server with dual 1-TB HDDs.

     

    And recently bought some crucial brand RAM chips from a reputable vendor, and installed 16GB RAM.

    The system and applications seem to work a bit faster, however hard drive spin-rates are a choke-point.

    I've tested the hardware in several ways and the computer seems to be doing better with more RAM.

     

    You could run http://etrecheck.com/#about  look into the report generated by the free application, it may

    be posted to an ASC reply. Mine shows the system to be Excellent and without any issues. I also looked

    to see if any adware or malware was installed, nothing appeared. Also tried the most recent version of

    http://www.adwaremedic.com/ that also said the system looked good. Both of work good, & are free.

     

    Not sure what else to suggest; if you have not personally partitioned either of the two hard drives in

    your Mac Mini Server, there is nothing to un-partition.

     

    Good luck & happy computing!

  • by mikechille,

    mikechille mikechille Mar 16, 2016 8:45 AM in response to K Shaffer
    Level 1 (9 points)
    Mac OS X
    Mar 16, 2016 8:45 AM in response to K Shaffer

    hi K Shaffer,

    Thank's for all these great informations, i did a full check and i get same old news "low in memory" Applications could not continue etc..etc..

    But i think that i did not explain my self good enough (surely because i'm from geneva and speak most of my time in french;) )

    but at the beginning i had only 1 Hard-Drive of 2TB then a few months ago i've made a partition on it. That's why i don't understand why i can't cancel that second hard drive that make's my Mac run so slowly now..

    as you can see on the pictures there is nothing on my hard drive so i really don't mind restoring it again if needed or else i don't mind..


    1.png

    2.png

    3.png

    4.png

  • by K Shaffer,

    K Shaffer K Shaffer Mar 16, 2016 12:51 PM in response to mikechille
    Level 6 (14,274 points)
    Desktops
    Mar 16, 2016 12:51 PM in response to mikechille

    Well, you may have obtained a custom upgraded Server model Late 2012 i7 2.3GHz quad-core

    however they shipped (Server stock) with two 1-TB hard disk drives, of 5400-RPM each. As mine.

     

    The 'About this Mac' + More Info button brings up 'System Information' window with select options:

    Screen Shot 2016-03-16 at 11.23.26 AM.png

    This is how standard configuration Late 2012 i7 Server Mac Mini 2.3GHz appears with dual 1-TB HDs.

     

    The drives are mechanically identical, and you should be able to tell within the system and by drive

    serial number among other things, what they are. However IF you did get an uncharacteristic model

    of Mac Mini 'Late 2012' Server i7 2.3GHz quad-core (that does not have) two 1- TB hard disk drives:

     

    Likely you will have to backup your content you wish to keep, on external enclosed hard drive storage;

    and use the OS X Recovery version of OS X Utilities, to reformat a single 2- TB HDD to make it one

    partition again. Then use Online Recovery to attempt to restore all partitions (including local Recovery

    partition that helps you choose how to restore your computer) if you did not create a quality backup

    clone that included all of the partitions which main HDD had when new. Many are hidden in daily use.

     

    You could use Time Machine and OS X Recovery to attempt to return the erased reformatted hard drive

    to a previously usable single partition hard drive, if you have a suitable backup in Time Machine.

     

    • Use Time Machine to back up or restore your Mac - Apple Support

    • OS X: About OS X Recovery - Apple Support

     

    'Recovery Disk Assistant' can be used to create a Recovery System on external drive that has same capability

    as the built-in Recovery System; if done in advance of the requirement or necessity, as a precaution.

     

    • OS X: About Recovery Disk Assistant - Apple Support

     

    • OS X Tips - Using the Recovery HD

    http://pondini.org/OSX/RecoveryHD.html

     

    • Apple OS X and Time Machine Tips:

    http://pondini.org/OSX/Home.html

     

    Sorry of any confusion in this matter; excepting my interest in the actual version of Server edition I own and

    am using while replying to your topic -- which I studied a year before getting mine last year direct from Apple

    online -- otherwise I'd have not known configuration details as-shipped, optional; & standard Server, as mine.

     

    However, you should look into the actual cause of slowness, since your drive information suggests there

    really isn't much capacity used in either partition (or apparent hard drive) so that should not be slow unless

    you have installed some anti-virus or other application is using CPU cycles excessively; or hogging RAM.

     

    To resolve the actual cause of this memory issue can be done on the present configuration. The Etrecheck

    report, if made and posted into a discussions window, could be helpful for others to see it & offer advice.

     

    In any event, hopefully you can restore your server Late 2012 i7 without much fuss...

    Good luck & happy computing!